A Deadly Faith

by Varun Gwalani

Perfect for fans of Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and The Village by M. Night Shyamalan, A Deadly Faith will pull you into a web of suspense, where every revelation is more chilling than the last.

In the middle of nowhere, a giant Eye watches over a tiny village.

For generations, no one has left—terrified of the deadly disease that lurks in their blood. Until a lonely boy did leave, and ended up dead by his own hand, spurred on by a book.

Now it’s up to Connor White, the guilt-ridden and depressed author of that book, to find the boy’s family, to confess to his sins and perhaps find salvation. But Levion is unlike any other. A secret village hidden from the rest of the world for hundreds of years; rife with death and deceit.

Until there is Victoria, a resident of Levion. Can she be the redemption Connor so desperately seeks?

From the bestselling author of The Only Way Out is Death comes a new dark and intense cult thriller. A Deadly Faith is a fast-paced suspense novel set in a small village buried under dark and twisted secrets.

One man’s guilt might just bring them all to light...

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Rahul Vishnoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

-A Deep Well of Darkness and Mystery-
Review of 'A Deadly Faith'

Quote Alert
"‘𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 “𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠” 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦—𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞! “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬!” 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭—𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞”. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝."

A Deadly Faith is a story that subsumes two dark wells of despair and darkness: first its protagonist and the second is the place he seeks out for redemption. Gwalani has rooted his story deep in the darkness of mystery and human complexities. With every passing revelation, more darkness emerges from the depth of the story, egging the reader on and on.

Connor White, in a one night stand with a university student, stumbles upon a fact: a young boy, after reading his dark, depressing book, shot himself. The girl blames White for writng a book that has a potential of triggering fatal bodily harm in a young impressionable mind. Devasted by the information, he wishes to go to the place this boy belonged to: a village hidden from the rest of the world, Levion. Here White comes to know that everyone follows only one religion Natism. Here White meets fiesty Victoria (who ends up punching him).

Gwalani has painstakingly designed the little details around the cult. It was quite engaging to read about them. Some of these freaked me out. Like for generations, no one has left Levion, terrified of a deadly disease and the only boy who left shot himself. There is a giant Eye that watches over the village. Their place of worship is called a Sinome, that is, home of the sun. Everyone grows and eats a herb hemki which can protect them from diseases. Father Godfrey, their priest, guide and leader, has the power to name every citizens: only the ones that contain letters from the sacred words: Levion, Natis, and Sinome. They don't have any surnames.

When an author introduces a story which demands the readers to suspend disbelief, it must have strong writing skills and a moderate pace with regular twists. Gwalani has fulfilled all these conditions.

This one was a quirky, dark thriller. Pick it up.

[haley c! · Rating 3 out of 5]

i feel as though i was reading this book for eternity, because i got it when i was in mumbai and was in the process of reading 2 other books so it was hard to get to. also the best part about it is that i met the author and loved him so much! so shout out varun, you're great!

that being said, i feel like cult books and documentaries are really my thing, so i was super excited about reading this book. the excerpt on the back was intriguing, and knowing the author made it that much more exciting. when i first started reading, i have to admit i wasn't that captivated. i had a little bit of a desire to know what was going on in the little cult, but i was more confused than anything because we are just sorta dropped into the middle of the story. also, the characters besides victoria/tisha were kinda unlikable? idk if that was the goal?

that being said! around half way through the book, when we started to learn more about the backstories of the cult, it started to pick up for me and i definitely was more excited to read. i love worl building and so this was really cool to see how this fictitious cult was created "hundreds" of years before the book takes place. BUT i will say the characters still lacked any real depth or spark for me, but the story itself kept me going.

finally, the big reveals at the end might have been a lil too cliche and raw for me. they definitely made me feel angry and sad for the characters in the book, but i felt like they fell sort of flat? idk again i read this over a longer-ish period of time so maybe that was why! but all in all i did enjoy this book and would want my friends to read it because i met the author and miss him and his community in india so so much! i want to read another one of his books asap!

[Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: When Guilt Becomes a Journey Into the Heart of Darkness 🖤

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5

Genre Tags:Psychological Thriller | Cult Fiction | Literary Suspense | Dark Fiction | Redemption Arc

There are books that entertain, and then there are books that get under your skin and make you think about things differently. "A Deadly Faith" by Varun Gwalani is definitely the second kind.

Get Ready:
Connor White carries the weight of a young man's death—a suicide triggered by Connor's own book. His journey to the hidden village of Levion to confess to the boy's family becomes something far more complex and terrifying than simple absolution. Levion isn't just geographically isolated; it's psychologically cut off from reality, governed by ancient fears and watched over by a mysterious giant Eye.

Characters What's Going On:
What makes this thriller better than most is how well Gwalani understands guilt and how it drives people. Connor isn't your typical troubled hero—he's genuinely wrestling with tough questions.
How much are we responsible when our actions have consequences we never intended? Can we earn forgiveness, or does it have to be freely given?

Victoria, our window into Levion's world, could have easily been written as a simple love interest or plot device. Instead, she's a fully realized character caught between loyalty to her community and recognition of its toxicity.
Their relationship develops organically, built on mutual understanding of what it means to be trapped by circumstances beyond their control.

What This Book Really Gets Right:
This isn't just a story about a creepy village (though it definitely is creepy). It's really about how communities can trap us, how protecting people can go too far, and how fear can disguise itself as caring. The giant Eye is such a perfect symbol for the kind of watching that claims to keep you safe but actually keeps you prisoner.

Writing Style:
Gwalani writes really well—smart but not show-offy. He creates this amazing atmosphere through details that matter, and his conversations feel natural even when weird stuff happens

Minor Critiques:
While the pacing is generally excellent, there are a few moments in the middle section where the philosophical elements slow the momentum slightly. However, these moments add necessary depth to the character development.

Final Thoughts:
"A Deadly Faith" proves that Varun Gwalani is an author worth following. This is smart thriller writing that doesn't talk down to readers while still delivering genuine chills and emotional punch.

Currently reading his previous work "The Only Way Out is Death" and can already see the evolution in his storytelling.

My Opinion: Anyone who wants their thrillers to make them think as much as they make them turn pages. Book clubs looking for discussion-worthy material that goes beyond surface-level plot twists.

Content Warnings: Suicide, cult-like religious practices, psychological manipulation, depression, self-harm ideation

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**Gratitude Note:** 🙏
I'm incredibly grateful to Varun Gwalani for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

*I received an advance copy of this book from the author. This review reflects my genuine thoughts and honest opinions about this remarkable work.*

[Aniket Pratap · Rating 4 out of 5]

There aren’t a lot of good mysteries and thrillers published in Indian literature, as it’s a tricky genre and hard to pull off, but once you find a book that makes you creep with all the tension, it's a dead end to your literary need.
A few days back, I read ‘A Deadly Faith’, a story of an author who is all puzzled up with self-doubt, making him feel all messy and feverish as his book became the reason for a man’s death. He is twisted in his way and curious enough to walk through the journey to find the truth about the death, and that’s when he finds “Levion”. Levion is a small, remote village that seems like a place one would ignore visiting, but Connor (author/protagonist name is Connor White) follows his blind faith towards a writer’s heart and curiosity. As he spends more and more time there, he uncovers a horrifying truth about the place, i.e. ‘a cult’.
Reading this book reminded me of a quote I read a few years back by M.J. Rose describing a mystery and thriller as,
“A mystery is a whodunit. You know what happened, but not how or who's behind it. A thriller, or a suspense, is a howdunit. You know what happened, and you usually know who did it, but you keep reading because you want to know how they pulled it off.”
It’s a near-perfect story, with usual issues, but readers will sincerely enjoy the experience, especially the variety of characters and their damaged & messed-up personas that complement the eerie atmosphere. There are certain pages in the book that leave you startled, questioning the right & wrong. As the book heavily draws on the background of faith, it somehow drags the readers with it, making them stand for what they believe in and interrogate.
Connor’s quest makes him meet many people, some become his accomplice and some a danger, but the situations he finds himself in throughout the story only make you glued to your seat, eventually blowing away your mind.

[Felina Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Faith is an interesting and absorbing treatise on how joining a cult can bleakly affect a person's overall mental and psychological well-being, leading to loss of free will and autonomy and critical thinking skills.

Connor White stumbled upon "Natism," a small group devoted to Natis, an eye (literally), when he found that Tom, a follower who ran away from the group, took his own life after reading White's book. Connor took it upon himself to locate his address in Levion, which was insulated from the outside world. Connor was introduced to Tisha/Victoria, a long-time member and eventually the charismatic leader and Savior of the sect, Father Godfrey, who exerted absolute authority over his constituents.

In the course of their developing close relationship, Victoria was able to disclose to Connor several unforgivable incidents occurring in the faction, including an instance of sexual exploitation in her situation when she was physically examined by Dr. Nateson. Slowly but surely, Conner started to pull the wool over Victoria's eyes and convinced her to understand the negative repercussions of cultism.

Gwalani superbly portrayed a flagrant depiction of life inside a system of religious veneration towards a particular object. Tolerant behavior towards cults or cultism should not be condoned or allowed, as these movements that tend to have an extreme set of beliefs and or rituals, can encourage isolation from outside influence, suppression of dissension, and the subjugation of an individual's freedom.

In an ideal, just and fair society, the inhabitants should have the privilege to decide, choose, judge, and express their opinions for themselves and possess the God-given right to pursue happiness and search for the truth.

[litwithneha ( Neha Modi ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a secluded village named Levion, A Deadly Faith is a thrilling story about the inner workings of a cult with some vicious tales about its origin and functioning and a few struggles of dismantling it.

Author Connor White stumbles upon Levion while looking for the family of a university student, Tom, who commits suicide after reading his books. Little did Connor know that his search for Tom’s family will turn his life upside down bringing about his own past and insecurities attached with it to the forefront.

The author maintains a steady pace throughout and the entire narrative around the functioning of the cult kept me hooked to it.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 / 5

[Ammie Vora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark fiction that slowly starts to settle in after you've read the book, gone to sleep, but your mind races beneath the covers. As a person interested in religion, religious heresy, heretics and other religious schools of thought, I enjoyed reading this book that doubles as a psychological horror as well, highlighting the helplessness the characters (and in turn people in reality) feel about the lack of control and knowledge about the origins of many religious cults/groups.
Incredibly terrifying!

[Ananya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an incredible read. We think of cults and their practices as this strange unheard of phenomenon, but they're more common and nefarious than we think.

10/10 book, and I highly recommend it to everyone looking for a book that tackles heavy themes well and accurately.

[Udit Gor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing!

[Akshitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the social commentary!!

[bookswithchaipai · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! A Deadly Faith plunges deep into the psychology of cults—their twisted beliefs, the powerful grip they hold over their followers, and the fear they use to control them. At its core, it’s a gripping tale of redemption and the courage to confront long-held fears.

The story kicks off with a high-octane pace, pulling us into a series of rapid events that lead to Levion—a village so remote, it doesn’t appear on any map. When Connor White stumbles into this hidden settlement, he quickly realizes he’s uncovered a cult. Deemed as their prophesied savior, Connor is guided by Victoria, a cult member who had been grappling with her emotions. But as their journey unfolds, Victoria begins to question everything she’s ever believed, uncovering the lies at the heart of her world.

The narrative is compelling and strikingly current, packed with twists, tension, and a feverish momentum that builds right up to the end. I couldn’t stop turning the pages, desperate to see where the story would lead.

I haven’t read many books about cults, so this book was a revelation. If you are looking for an inspiring, fast paced thriller, this is the book for you.

[Ria Agarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up The Deadly Faith with a goal to finish it in two days — but honestly, that was a mistake. This is a book you need to take your time with. The plot unfolds slowly, and it’s worth savouring every layer as it builds.

This was my first time reading a cult fiction novel, and as someone who’s never been part of a cult (obviously), it was hard to wrap my head around why anyone would choose to live that kind of life. But Varun does a brilliant job of easing the reader into that world. He takes his time, drawing us into the lives of the cult members, helping us understand their mindset — especially the twisted psychology of the leaders.

It’s definitely a slow burn, but as an agnostic reader, I didn’t find it difficult to stay engaged. The way the story develops — focusing equally on the cult members and the protagonist — is done really well. And those last few chapters? Had me wide awake at 3am, flipping pages.